If it truly was
by SpicyPepper-SweetSugar
Summary: "She had told herself: if it truly was meant to be, he would remember." Small Captain Swan one-shot which I threw together in 30 minutes. Probably not that good. Spoilers for season 3. Also, hadn't seen 3x10 yet when I wrote it, so it's a little AU because it's my take on the curse before I knew what it was about. Rated T because I'm paranoid. FIRST CS FIC! ONE-SHOT!


_**A/N: So, I loooove Captain Swan and this is my first time writing about them! It's just something I threw together in like half an hour so it will probably not be my best work! Also, Emma might be a little OOC, but keep in mind that this is obviously a little AU!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this fic! This is just wishful thinking on my part and the [SPOILER ALERT] new curse will probably not be like this at all since we already know that Hook will be with Emma in New York in 3x12!**_

_**ALSO: I wrote this BEFORE I watched 2x10, which means I didn't really know what the curse might bring! I just knew there would be another curse, making them all forget!**_

_**I do hope you guys enjoy this little one-shot! **_

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The first time Emma saw him after the new curse had been cast, she hadn't expected to have the breath knocked out of her lungs.

It had been a snowy day and an even snowier evening in New York. Her month-long search had finally paid off and she had found him.

-Captain Swan-

At first, when Peter Pan revealed what the consequences of the new curse would be, she hadn't exactly expected herself to be so upset about her loss. Of course, she knew that her parents would once again forget her and she had grown fond of her new friends in the small town. Just as everything had started coming together, Pan threatened them all again, because as he always said, "Pan never fails."

What they knew of the curse was that everyone who originated in the Enchanted Forest would once again forget who they were, but what they hadn't expected, was that everyone would also vanish from the town. As they had all been saying goodbye to each other, not knowing what would come for them, promising that somehow they would find their way back to each other, Emma had spent her time embracing her son and her parents, who she considered more as friends.

"It will be okay," David had told her. "We will find our way back to each other one way or another."

Mary-Margaret had cried because once again, she would not only be torn away from her daughter this time, but also from her grandchild who she had grown to love just as much.

Emma had glanced over at Neal, who stood by his father's side, talking about something, and then over at the Captain who stood alone by the docks. The had all agreed that this was the place where they would say their goodbyes. He was looking out over the sea, deep in his own thoughts, his eyebrows furrowed together. Not being able to help herself, she walked over to him and stood by his side quietly.

He glanced at her sideways and hid lips tugged up in a small smile, but he didn't say anything either at first. Minutes went by and Emma felt like she needed to say something, because after all, she considered him her friend now after everything that had happened in Neverland.

"What do you think will happen to us?" she asked him, knowing that it was really impossible for him to know. He hadn't been affected by the first curse because he had been in Neverland at the time.

"As Pan said, we will all probably forget who we really are," he said, still looking at the sea. There was a hint of sadness in his tone and she wondered for a while why he refused to look at her.

"What will happen to you?" she asked. "And Tinkerbell," she covered quickly, not wanting to show how much he had begun to mean to her. "The two of you haven't been under this kind of curse before. What will happen if you don't have a background story here in Storybrooke?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Perhaps we will just...disappear."

The way he had said it made Emma's heart clench. "You probably won't," she said, trying to stay supportive. "Maybe you'll just get another identity like everyone else."

"Really?" he chuckled. "What do you reckon my new name would be?"

Emma smiled lightly. It was better this way, trying to stay positive. "Gregory," she grinned at him and he stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"I am no Gregory, Darling," he said, finally turning to face her. At once, the amusement in his face disappeared and was replaced by something that Emma recognised as sadness. "I do not want to forget," he told her seriously.

Emma wondered if he meant that he didn't want to forget his true name, or if he didn't want to forget what had been happening lately between them.

"I don't want to either," she told him honestly, still not knowing what they were referring to as they spoke. "Maybe my parents are right," she tried. "Maybe we'll all find our way back to each other somehow and break the curse."

"I hope so," he said, looking at her all serious again.

"Hook," she started, feeling as if she needed to get something off her chest, but she never had time to finish. She turned over to look at Henry who had shouted that the curse was coming. Turning back to face the sea, she could just see a cloud of purple coming their way, quickly. Henry ran up to her and embraced her, tears in his eyes and she looked up desperately at Hook, who for some reason, grasped her hand before giving her a curt nod.

Then, there was light.

Emma felt Hook's fingers slip from her grasp, but she still felt Henry's arms around her. She had closed her eyes because of the bright light, but as it started to fade, she opened them slowly. Turning around, she noticed that she still stood at the docks. She looked down and her eyes were met by Henry's, who had widened like saucers as he let go of her. Tears sprung to her eyes as she realized that he had probably forgotten her already.

"Mom, where is everyone else?" he asked, turning to look around.

"Henry?" she said incredulously. "You remember me?"

Henry looked just as surprised as she did, but then she realized that she also remembered her own name, something that she shouldn't have been able to do if the curse had worked properly.

"Didn't the curse work?" someone behind them asked and Emma turned around, only to see Neal making his way over to them.

"Neal," Emma breathed out as Henry embraced his father, who still had his memory intact. "What the hell is going on?"

She looked around once again, but everyone else who had been at the docks with them, were gone. Regina, her parents and most importantly, Hook.

-Captain Swan-

They had later found out that the curse had only worked on those who hadn't grown up in this world. Since Emma's home had always been in this realm, no matter where she had been born, she had only one place to which she identified herself with. Henry in turn had been born in Phoenix, which meant that he hadn't been affected either. Neal, on the other hand, should have been cursed but since he also refused to identify himself as his Enchanted Forest-self, he had also been able to avoid the curse. Everyone else had however suddenly disappeared and Storybrooke had been emptied of it's citizens.

The three of them then dedicated themselves to trying to find the others and one by one, they managed to track some of them down. Neal had found his father, and somehow they managed to get Mr. Gold to remember who he was. With Gold on their side, they had then come up with ways that they would get the others to remember as well, after they found them.

Emma didn't want to admit it at first, but she felt as if a part of her had gone missing when the curse hit. She blamed it on missing her parents, but deep down she knew what it really was. It was Neal who pointed it out one night as they sat in the kitchen trying to figure out which town to visit next in hopes of finding their missing friends.

"You miss him," he had said.

"Who?" Emma asked, not looking up from the maps in front of her.

"Hook."

At this, she looked up and met Neal's eyes. She didn't say anything and they both knew she didn't have to. It could all be read in her eyes.

"You love him, don't you?" Neal asked. "You love me too, but not like that. You love me as an old friend and respect me as the father of your son, but you don't love me like you love him."

Emma closed her eyes and looked down, tears springing to her eyes. "I didn't realise until he slipped out of my fingers." Literally.

-Captain Swan-

When she finally tracked him down, she had told Neal to stay behind with Henry and Gold in Storybrooke as she traveled to New York. She wanted to speak to him alone and see if he would remember her.

If it truly was meant to be- if it truly was true love- he would, she told herself as she walked into the small restaurant which she had tracked him to.

It was the first time she had seen him in normal clothing and she hadn't expected him to take her breath away like that. He was sitting in one of the booths, looking around curiously, wearing jeans and a black heart jumped slightly as she saw his bright blue eyes settle on her. Remember, she thought. Please, just remember.

"Excuse me," a voice chirped up behind her. She turned around and saw a blonde young woman, probably mid-twenties looking at her.

"Oh, sorry," Emma said, moving out of the way. She turned back to look at Killian but her face fell as the blonde walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before settling down in front of him. He was beaming at the woman, and Emma felt her heart drop. He had a new life here, he didn't remember her and worst of all, he seemed happy.

Still, Emma couldn't bring herself to just walk out of the restaurant and leave him there with the other girl. No, instead, she got herself a table and sat down, ordering a cup of coffee, stealing glances at him once in a while. Finally, as the unknown girl got up and went to the bathroom, Emma saw her chance. She left money on the table for the coffee and walked straight up to his table. However, as she opened her mouth to speak, he looked up at her curiously and she froze. They stared at each other for a while and Emma's heart beat loudly in her chest.

He blinked a couple of times. "May I help you?" he asked politely, his accent still there. Emma felt her eyes well up with tears again. He didn't recognize her.

She shook her head. "No," she said, her voice thick. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly and turned around to leave.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist, making her turn to face him again. He was looking torn and he frowned at her. "Have we met before?" he asked. "Why do I feel like we have met before?"

"We haven't," she said quickly.

"Are you sure?" he pressed. "I swear I…" he trailed off, letting go of her wrist suddenly, holding his hand out. "I'm Colin," he greeted and she stared at his hand, not taking it. "What's your name?" he asked.

Once again, her heart broke all over again. "It really doesn't matter," she said. "Good bye Killian- I mean, Colin," she said, quickly covering up her mistake. She smiled sadly at him.

When she left the restaurant, she stood out in the cold for a long while, not knowing where to go next. She knew that if she'd return to Storybrooke without Killian, Neal, Henry and Gold would wonder why she hadn't brought him back with her. How would she explain to them, that she had put his happiness first? Not wanting to leave yet, she walked across the street and sat down on a bench, finally letting the tears fall.

-Captain Swan-

Colin looked after the mysterious woman who walked out of the restaurant. From the moment she had walked in, he had felt as if he knew her from somewhere. Maybe they had gone to college together? When she had let his date through the door, she had gone to sit at a table a little further from him, so he couldn't exactly keep staring at her. He had, however, constantly felt her presence behind him and he couldn't get his mind off the eerie feeling that he knew her.

When she had walked out, something inside of him was screaming at him to leave and run after her, but he couldn't just stand up his date like that. The woman was on his mind constantly as he talked to the girl in front of him and sometimes, he drifted away from their conversations as he thought of the other blonde.

"Colin," his date laughed. "Penny for your thoughts." Even though he was distant, the girl, Sarah, was enjoying their date.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he grinned. "I just have a lot on my mind lately."

"Care to share?" Sarah asked and he shrugged.

"It's not really important," he said, although inside him, he knew that it really was. "How about you tell me something about yourself now?"

"I've been talking about myself for the last couple of minutes," Sarah reminded him, still looking amused. "But as you wish."

As you wish.

As you wish.

As you wish.

The words echoed in his head for a good couple of seconds. His eyes widened slightly and he looked down at the prosthetic left hand he had after being in a car accident a few years back. No… It hadn't been a car accident.

"Emma," he suddenly breathed out, his eyes widening even more as he looked at the door.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Emma," he repeated, staring at her.

"No…" Sarah said quietly. "My name is Sarah."

"No, not you," he said urgently, standing up and grabbing his coat.

"Colin, where are you going?" Sarah asked, staring at him as he put his coat on.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't going to work out," he said, putting a couple of bills on the table before running to the door. He got out and the air was cold as he looked around, trying to find her.

"Emma!" he called out, but no reply came.

-Captain Swan-

"Emma!"

Emma raised her head, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. She had just gathered enough strength to walk away when she had heard her name being called. Turning around, she saw him standing outside the restaurant, looking around frantically.

"Emma!" he called again, still not seeing her.

Could it be…?

"Killian!" she called back and his head snapped her way. He saw her, and quickly moved toward her. Tears once again sprung from her eyes as she ran toward him as well. They stopped, just a few feet from each other.

They didn't speak and time seemed to stand still.

"I didn't want to forget," he told her suddenly. "I didn't want to forget you, but I did."

She nodded, tears still running down her cheeks. "You did," she agreed.

"But I remembered," he told her, stepping forward, just as she threw herself in his arms. He embraced her tightly, not wanting to ever let go of her. "You found me," he whispered as they pulled apart, meeting her eyes.

"I did," she nodded as he grinned at her.

"And you called me by my real name," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she laughed and smacked him lightly on the arm. "I did," she agreed again. "And now I will never let you go again." It was possessive of her to say something like that, but she meant it. Being without him had made her realise something that she had probably known all along, ever since their return to Storybrooke after Neverland. She did love him.

Killian grinned at her and leaned toward her. "I guess I'll hold you to that one, Love," he said, just before closing the remaining distance between them.

_She had told herself: If it was truly meant to be, he would remember, and he did._

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**_A/N: I know. It's kind of crappy, but i figured it couldn't hurt to share it anyway! Review and tell me what you thought but please take it easy on the hate, okay? :)_**

**_Many hugs to my fellow shippers!_**

**_Spicy_**


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